2C-Te, also known as 2,5-dimethoxy-4-methyltellurophenethylamine, is a chemical compound of the phenethylamine and 2C families. "From the point of view of the hetero-atom itself, there are two more known below selenium in the Periodic Table. Each deserves some special comment. The next atom, directly below selenium, is tellurium. It is more metallic, and its compounds have a worse smell yet. I heard a story about a German chemist, many years ago, who was carrying a vial of dibutyl telluride in his pocket in a passenger coach from here to there in Germany, back at about the turn of the century. It fell to the floor and broke. No one could remain in the car, and no amount of decontamination could effectively make the smell tolerable. Scratch one railway coach. But the compound, 2C-TE, would be readily makeable. Dimethyl ditelluride is a known thing." It is the analogue of the psychedelic drug 2C-Se in which the selenium (Se) atom has been replaced with a tellurium (Te) atom. These elements are chalcogens, with tellurium following vertically after oxygen (O), sulfur (S), and selenium on the periodic table. Other related compounds in the 2C-Se and 2C-Te series include 2C-O and 2C-T.
In his 1991 book PiHKAL (Phenethylamines I Have Known and Loved), Alexander Shulgin synthesized and described the effects of 2C-Se. He also mentioned 2C-Te in the 2C-Se entry, and said that it would be a readily makeable compound, but did not synthesize it. In 2024, 2C-Se-TFM was synthesized and described by Josh Hartsel and colleagues. An unusual property of selenium and tellurium and compounds containing them is that they are often extremely foul-smelling as well as toxic.
In 2025, journalist and researcher Hamilton Morris disclosed that he was working on synthesis of 2C-Te and/or 2C-Te-TFM in hopes of creating the world's first tellurium-containing psychedelic. He also mentioned that he would be releasing a documentary on this effort. Morris has described this synthesis work as extremely challenging and difficult, due to the synthetic complexity and because of compounds involved in the synthesis being unstable and very foul-smelling.
2C-Te is a controlled substance in Canada under phenethylamine blanket-ban language. It is not an explicitly controlled substance in the United States, but could be considered a controlled substance under the Federal Analogue Act if intended for human consumption.
See also 2C (psychedelics) Tellurium compounds 2C-T-TFM FP-LAD
References
External links 2C-TE - Isomer Design